Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Thursday, 23 February 2023 01:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Colombo stock market struggled yesterday and closed flat whilst net foreign selling persisted renewing fresh concerns.
The benchmark ASPI gained by 14 points or 0.15% whilst the S&P SL20 declined by 4 points. Turnover was Rs. 1.8 billion involving 79 million shares.
CSE...
Net foreign outflow yesterday amounted to Rs. 410 million (JKH Rs. 289 million) reducing the year to date inflow to Rs. 3.3 billion. In the first two days of the week net foreign selling was over Rs. 500 million.
Asia Securities said after crossing the 9,200 mark, the ASPI reversed gains to close marginally higher as investors cashed in profits leading to a pullback in heavyweight stocks during the session.
Notably, HHL, EXPO, SAMP, CICN, MELS, AAIC, LOFC, DIST, AGST, TKYON, TKYOX and HNBN scaled sharp price gains at market open, however drifted downwards from their respective intraday highs in the second half of the session.
Earlier, the ASPI reached a four-month high of 9,278 (+132 points) in the first hour of trading before gradually dropping to 9,160 (+14 points) at market close. NDB (+5 points), CTHR (+5 points), and LIOC (+4 points) were the major index movers while VONE (-9 points), MELS (-8 points), and EXPO (-6 points) came in as the top laggards on the ASPI. Overall, 96 counters closed higher while 85 settled with losses.
Turnover was led by JKH (Rs. 308 million) and LIOC (Rs. 220 million). Foreigners generated a net outflow of Rs. 410 million due to net selling in JKH (Rs. 289 million), HHL (Rs. 81 million), and UBC (Rs. 63 million). Net foreign buying topped in LIOC Rs. 10.2 million.
First Capital said the bourse closed flat with a mixed sentiment during the day as profit taking wiped off gains made during the first half of the session. Index opened on a positive note with a gain of +100 points, largely backed by index-heavy banking sector counters which continued to rally during the first half of the session with IMF support expected in the near future.
It said revitalised interest from high net-worth individuals was witnessed on LIOC following the news on QR system for fuel being cancelled in the coming months. Positive sentiment persisted on blue-chip counters such as JKH and HHL with perceptible foreign interest. However, towards the second half of the session profit booking dragged the index down. Later on losses were recouped and closed in green with a marginal gain of 14 points supported by NDB following the positive earnings while NEST too contributed largely as investor interest loomed after the high dividend pay-out announcement.
NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in John Keells Holdings. Mixed interest was observed in Lanka IOC, Hemas Holdings and Expolanka Holdings whilst retail interest was noted in Union Bank, People's Leasing & Finance and Browns Investments.
The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to John Keells Holdings and Hemas Holdings) whilst the sector index edged down by 0.01%. The share price of John Keells Holdings closed flat at Rs. 137.50. The share price of Hemas Holdings moved down by 70 cents to Rs. 63.30.
The Energy sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Lanka IOC) whilst the sector index increased by 1.74%. The share price of Lanka IOC gained Rs. 3 to Rs. 203.25.
Union Bank and Expolanka Holdings were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Union Bank recorded a gain of 60 cents to Rs. 9.10. The share price of Expolanka Holdings declined by Rs. 2.50 to Rs. 173.
